Mayor Henry is fully behind the creation of the city court, while Judge Fran Gull says moving ahead with it would, in fact, be a big step backwards, in terms of quality court services for the public.

Mayor Tom Henry's administration filed an ordinance last week to create a city court to handle misdemeanors, infractions and other alleged violations of city ordinance.

Fort Wayne officials maintain such a court will be able to better prioritize citations written by city officers, and will hike revenues for the city.

Gull says a city court is not considered a court of record and that appeals wind up in county courts anyway, creating a duplication of effort.

She also argues such a court would not necessarily bring in more money for Fort Wayne.

Judge Fran Gull/Allen Superior Criminal Court: " The Greenwood city court in Greenwood Indiana is costing the City of Greenwood in excess of $80,000. So, once you take into account salaries and time and effort, they're not really money-makers."

Fort Wayne Deputy Mayor Beth Malloy disputes that notion, saying the Henry administration surveyed 20 cities and towns that have municipal courts, and that Greenwood reported net income of $579,000 IN 2009.

Hammond, New Haven, and Carmel also reported net incomes of $1.7 to $2.2-million.

Malloy says Fort Wayne wants to preserve the right to create a city court as a source of more revenue for citations generated by city police officers.